Dance helps in restoring a local landmark

Posted on Wednesday, March 19, 2014 at 7:00 am

The “Ides of March” Dance in Reedville was sold out with 100 attendees aiding the restoration of the historic Festival Halle with their dancing feet.

As a beautiful Saturday in Reedville faded to dusk, the Festival Halle came alive with the sounds of upbeat music and 100 attendees laughing, eating and dancing the night away.
The proceeds from last week’s Ides of March Dance, hosted by the Reedville Fishermen’s Museum, helped benefit the Festival Halle’s restoration. Since they acquired the building in 2009, RFM’s Carol Towne said they had put in at least 180 volunteer hours to restore the building, from painting to redoing the floors to creating a bride’s room.
Towne said the resoration would not only increase the rentals but also preserve the Festival Halle, given its history and use by the local community.
Towne said she is making a display case that would include a picture of the building as a school.
Future renovation plans consist of renovating the kitchen and bathrooms, and taking down the overhang. Towne said that the Ides of March Dance helped to pay for a new floor, a new toilet and a new vanity in…

—Read the full story in the March 19 issue of the Northumberland Echo, on stands now!